An esophageal mass with coexistent Mycobacterium chelonae and Candida albicans infections in an immunocompetent adult

Mycobacteria chelonae was originally included in group IV of Runyon's classification of atypical mycobacteria. This rapidly growing environmental organism often caused infections in immunocompromised hosts. Candida albicans is a ubiquitous micro-organism and frequently isolated from the gastrointestinal tract. These two micro-organisms seldom cause esophageal diseases in healthy humans. We report a case of a fruit farmer with a submucosa tumor of distal esophagus caused by coexistence of M. chelonae and C. albicans infections, which was successfully treated by surgical resection and following antimicrobial regimens postoperatively. ? 2005 The Bristish Infection Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.